Gary Bar­win is a writer, com­pos­er, mul­ti­me­dia artist, and the author of 20 books of poet­ry, fic­tion and books for chil­dren. A PhD in music com­po­si­tion, Bar­win has been Writer-in-Res­i­dence at West­ern Uni­ver­si­ty and Young Voic­es eWriter-in-res­i­dence at the Toron­to Pub­lic Library and has taught cre­ative writ­ing at a num­ber of col­leges and uni­ver­si­ties. Born in North­ern Ire­land to South African par­ents of Ashke­nazi descent, Bar­win moved to Cana­da as a child. He is mar­ried with three adult chil­dren, and lives in Hamil­ton, Ontario.